Metal-coated carbon surfaces for use in fuel cells

ABSTRACT

A method of coating a carbon article with a metal by reductively electropolymerizing the metal via cyclic voltammetry on the carbon article, thereby forming a metal coating on the carbon article and the polymerized metal-coated carbon article made by the method. A polymerized metal-coated carbon article having a carbon article and a metal coating disposed on an exterior surface of the carbon article, the coating being present in an amount less than about 0.1 mg/cm 2 . A method of using a fuel cell by forming a fuel cell with a polymerized metal-coated carbon article as a working electrode and reducing oxygen, thereby providing power to a vehicle. A fuel cell including a polymerized metal-coated carbon article as a working electrode.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/539,024, filed Oct. 11, 2005, which claims priority to PCT/US03/41521, filed Dec. 30, 2003, which claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 60/437,391, filed Dec. 31, 2002, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Generally, the present invention relates to a metal-coated carbon article. More specifically, the present invention relates to a platinum coated carbon fuel cell electrode made by reductive electropolymerization.

2. Description of the Related Art

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device in which electrical energy is generated by a chemical reaction without altering the basic components of the fuel cell, i.e., the electrodes and the electrolyte. Fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen without combustion to form water, and also produce direct current electric power. The process can be described as electrolysis in reverse. The fuel cell is unique in that it converts chemical energy continuously into electrical energy without an intermediate conversion to heat energy.

Fuel cells have been pursued as a source of power for transportation because of their high-energy efficiency (unmatched by heat engine cycles), their potential for fuel flexibility, and their extremely low emissions. Fuel cells have potential for stationary and vehicular power applications. The commercial viability of fuel cells for power generation in stationary and transportation applications depends upon solving a number of manufacturing, cost, and durability problems.

The operation of a fuel cell involves supplying fuel to an anode, where the fuel is ionized to free electrons and hydrogen ions. The free electrons flow through an external circuit to the cathode. The free hydrogen ions pass through the electrolyte to the cathode, which is supplied with oxygen. The oxygen at the cathode is ionized by the electrons, which flows into the cathode from the external circuit connected to the anode. The ionized oxygen and hydrogen ions react to form water.

Fuel cells are broadly classified by operating temperature level, type of electrolyte, and type of fuel. Low-temperature fuel cells (less than 150° C./302° F.) require a catalyst in order to increase the rate of reaction to a level that is high enough for practical use. Electrodes for low temperature fuel cells usually are porous and impregnated with the catalyst.

Among the several types of fuel cells under development to provide efficient sources of electrical power with reduced pollution, cells using gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) with proton exchange membranes as the electrolyte (proton exchange membrane fuel cells, PEMFCs) are seen as having a number of advantages. Such fuel cells avoid the problems of handling liquid fuels and electrolytes because they use gaseous reactants and a solid electrolyte that allows the transfer of protons between electrodes. Although phosphoric acid fuel cells (PFC) utilize phosphoric acid as the electrolyte, the same catalyst loaded electrodes described above are required for their functions. The cells have been found to be reliable, efficient, and convenient sources of power. However, they have proven to be very expensive in terms of cost per kilowatt of power delivered. As a consequence, their practical application has been limited to specialized applications that can justify their considerable expense, e.g., in aerospace applications. If such fuel cells are to achieve wider application, for example, as sources of power for automotive propulsion or stationary power plants, the cost in terms of dollars per delivered kilowatt will have to be significantly reduced.

Further, low temperature fuel cells cannot be used successfully for vehicular propulsion unless the fuel cells have a very large electrode area coated with a catalytically active material. The noble metal catalysts used in low temperature fuel cells generally perform most efficiently if they are in small clusters of nanometric dimensions on a suitable support. The support material must be: (a) electrically conductive; (b) chemically inert in the fuel cell environment; (c) mechanically robust; (d) sufficiently adherent to the cell membrane; and, (e) depositable in a thin film form, into which platinum, or other catalyst material, can be incorporated.

A major factor in the cost of PEMFCs and PFC is the expense of the electrodes. The cost of the electrodes is determined by a number of factors, primarily the expense of the precious metal catalysts, which are needed for practical efficiency, and the cost of fabricating the electrodes, which is typically conducted by means of a batch process. Furthermore, the cost of the fuel cell system is also greatly affected by the electrochemical performance of the electrodes, which determines the power density of the fuel cell, i.e., the power produced per unit area, e.g., kilowatts per square centimeter. The combination of power density, catalyst loading, and system fabrication costs determines the ultimate cost per kilowatt of the complete fuel cell system.

A favored material for use as an electrode support material is carbon. The carbon typically is “doped” with 1-10% platinum or platinum-ruthenium. In the past, the catalyst-doped carbon has been applied in the form of ink. Alternatively, the catalyst-doped carbon can be applied using complex chemical processes that require high temperature firing, resulting in a glassy carbon that contains platinum oxide. The high temperature firing used to produce these electrodes, cannot be used to coat the ionomer membranes that are favored for use in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC's).

Some of the most efficient electrocatalysts for low temperature fuel cells are noble metals, such as platinum, which are very expensive. It has been estimated that the total cost of such catalysts comprises a significant percentage of the total cost of manufacturing a low-temperature fuel cell. The expense of such catalysts makes it imperative to reduce the amount, or loading, of catalyst required for the fuel cell. This requires an efficient method for applying the catalyst. The method also must produce an electrocatalytic coating with a minimal catalyst load that also has sufficient catalytic activity for commercial viability.

Conventional fuel cell electrodes have used unsupported platinum black, having a surface area of about 28 m²/g with a particle size of about 10 nanometers, at a catalyst loading of about 4 mg/cm² of electrode area. It is estimated that the amount of precious metal will have to be reduced substantially below 1 mg/cm² if PEMFCs are to become a widely used source of electric power.

In a typical process, an amount of a desired noble metal catalyst, in the range of about 0.5-4 mg/cm², is applied to a fuel cell electrode as an ink or using complex chemical procedures. Unfortunately, such methods require the application of a relatively large load of noble metal catalyst in order to produce a fuel cell electrode with the desired level of electrocatalytic activity, particularly for low temperature applications. The expense of such catalysts makes it imperative to reduce the amount, or loading, of catalyst required for the fuel cell. There is therefore a need in the art for a more efficient method for applying the catalyst.

In recent years, a number of deposition methods, including rolling/spraying, solution casting/hot pressing, and electrochemical catalyzation, have been developed for the production of platinum catalyst layers for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Although thin sputtered platinum coatings deposited on carbon cloth can measurably improve fuel cell performance, this approach generally is not considered to be viable for large area deposition or as a stand-alone treatment for applying platinum. Continuing challenges remain in the development of scalable methods for the production of large-area (>300 cm²), high performance (>1A/cm² at 0.6 V) fuel cell electrodes with low platinum loadings (<0.3 mg/cm²).

Additionally, it has been recognized that the amount of precious metal catalyst can be reduced if the metal is present in a more finely divided form. Consequently, electrodes using platinum supported on a granular support, e.g., carbon particles, have been used. Such supported platinum catalysts, prepared by chemical precipitation of the metal onto the granular support, typically have surface areas of about 120 m²/g, with a particle size of about 2-2.5 nanometers, and a catalyst loading of about 0.5 mg/cm². Although these electrodes use less of the costly platinum catalyst, the power density obtained using such electrodes has been less than satisfactory. Accordingly, the cost of such a fuel cell system is still too high. It is believed that the relatively poor performance, i.e., low power density, is caused by ineffective utilization of the catalyst, because a substantial fraction of the platinum is not accessible to the oxidants.

A method for depositing precious metal catalyst in finely divided form in a gas diffusion electrode is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,144, to Vilambi-Reddy et al. According to the method of the '144 patent, fine particles of a catalytic metal are deposited electrolytically onto an uncatalyzed layer of carbon particles, bonded with a fluorocarbon resin, and impregnated with the proton exchange resin by contacting the face of the electrode with a plating bath and using pulsed direct current. The gas diffusion electrodes prepared by the process of the '144 patent contained about 0.05 mg/cm² of platinum as particles of about 3.5 nanometers in diameter having a surface area of about 80 m²/g. Such electrodes functioned about as well as the electrodes using supported platinum with a loading of 0.5 mg/cm² of platinum. It is believed that these electrodes achieved their improved mass activity, i.e., current per weight of platinum, because the electrolytic process deposits the catalyst particles only at regions with both electronic and ionic accessibility. Such locations are expected to be accessible to the protons and electrons required for the fuel cell reactions. However, such improved mass activity does not compensate for the low catalyst loading provided by the process disclosed in the '144 patent. Consequently, the power density of such electrodes is still insufficient to permit the wide use of PEMFCs as sources of electric power.

It would, therefore, be useful to develop a method of depositing catalytic metals on carbon articles in amounts greater than hitherto achieved, while retaining the small particle size, and electronic and ionic accessibility that provides high mass activity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for a method of coating a carbon article with a metal by reductively electropolymerizing the metal via cyclic voltammetry on the carbon article, thereby forming a metal coating on the carbon article.

The present invention also provides for a polymerized metal-coated carbon article formed by the above method.

The present invention provides for a polymerized metal-coated carbon article including a carbon article, and a polymerized metal coating disposed on an exterior surface of said carbon article through reductive electropolymerization, the coating being present in an amount less than about 0.1 mg/cm².

The present invention further provides for a method of using a fuel cell, including the steps of forming a fuel cell with a polymerized metal-coated carbon article above as a working electrode, and reducing oxygen, thereby providing power to a vehicle.

The present invention provides for a fuel cell including a polymerized metal-coated carbon article as above as a working electrode.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention are readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art fuel cell;

FIG. 2 is a graph showing electropolymerization via cyclic voltammetry of platinum phosphate blue recorded using a porous carbon, SCE, and Pt wire as working, reference, and auxiliary electrodes, respectively;

FIG. 3 is a graph showing electropolymerization via cyclic voltammetry of K₃Fe(CN)₆ recorded utilizing platinum wire and platinum coated carbon electrodes;

FIG. 4 is a graph showing activity of platinum coated carbon electrode through electropolymerization via cyclic voltammetry of K₃Fe(CN)₆ recorded utilizing platinum coated electrode or pure platinum wire as a working electrode;

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the charge accumulation in 1.0 M sulfuric acid using platinum coated carbon rods with five and 10 cycle platinum loading using a hydrogen reference electrode;

FIG. 6 is a graph showing net oxygen reduction current (reduction current in saturated oxygen solution minus ion current in argon purged solution) as a function of voltage on platinum coated carbon using PPB as the source of platinum compound;

FIG. 7 is a graph of net oxygen reduction current as a function of voltage using carbon cloth as the carbon and PPB as the source of platinum; and

FIG. 8 is an X-ray scattering of platinum-coated (sample 2L, 0.03; sample 2, 0.05, and sample 3L, 0.08 mg/cm²) carbon rods and an uncoated carbon rod (platinum reflections (111 and 200) are shown in red).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Generally, the present invention provides a method of coating a carbon article with a metal, by reductively electropolymerizing (via cyclic voltammetry) the metal on the carbon article, thereby forming a metal coating on the carbon article. Also provided by the present invention, is the polymerized metal-coated carbon article made by the above method, and fuel cells utilizing the polymerized metal-coated carbon article.

The term “carbon article” is intended to include all carbon-based materials. The carbon article must be able to withstand the electropolymerization of a metal coating via cyclic voltammetry. Examples of materials able to withstand this treatment are known to those of skill in the art. The carbon articles can include, but are not limited to, carbon paper, carbon rods, carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, carbon composite materials, carbon electrodes, and other similar materials.

“Electropolymerization”, as used herein, refers to the process of using cyclic voltammetry to electrocatalyze polymerization of anionic, cataionic, or neutral platinum complexes on carbon substrates followed by reduction (reductive electropolymerization) to form a uniform thin-film of metal on a substrate. The technique of cyclic voltammetry has long been known to electrochemists; however, the present invention uses herein a nonconventional method that was previously not expected to work. The present invention uses this technology to electrocatalyze platinum metal complexes to form polymeric species to uniformly coat carbon substrate followed by reduction to make a thin-film. This technique is characterized by a large jump in current, i.e. a step-wise increase in current is effected until the polymerizable metal is saturated on the carbon article, i.e. until electropolymerization on the carbon article is complete, as evidenced by the leveling-off of the current in FIG. 2 after a few cycles. Thus, while “cyclic voltammetry” is referred to in the present invention, it should be known that this method is used only in the process of electropolymerization.

The term “metal” is used to reference a metal that is capable of being electrodeposited on a carbon article as a very thin polymerized coating. In other words, the metal is polymerizable. More specifically, the metal is preferably a precious metal, as these metals are known to those of skill in the art to be useful as coatings on carbon articles. Examples of such precious metals include, but are not limited to, platinum, gold, silver, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, and iridium. Preferably, the metal coating is formed utilizing platinum.

Electrodeposition is the electrochemical deposition of metal ions. Electrodeposition allows the “tailoring” of surface properties of a bulk material or, in the case of electroforming, the entire part. Deposits can be produced to meet a variety of designer demands.

The preferred method of reductive electropolymerization utilizes voltammetry. Voltammetry utilizes a simple potential waveform that is often used in electrochemical experiments, which is the linear waveform i.e., the potential is continuously changed as a linear function of time. The rate of change of potential with time is referred to as the scan rate (v). The simplest technique that uses this waveform is linear sweep voltammetry. The potential range is scanned in one direction, starting at the initial potential and finishing at the final potential. A more commonly used variation of the technique is cyclic voltammetry, in which the direction of the potential is reversed at the end of the first scan. Thus, the waveform is usually of the form of an isosceles triangle. The advantage is that the product of the electron transfer reaction that occurred in the forward scan can be probed again in the reverse scan. In addition, it is a powerful tool for the determination of formal redox potentials, detection of chemical reactions that precede or follow the electrochemical reaction, and evaluation of electron transfer kinetics.

More specifically, cyclic voltammetry (CV) is an electrolytic method that uses microelectrodes and an unstirred solution, so that the measured current is limited by analyte diffusion at the electrode surface. The electrode potential is ramped linearly to a more negative potential, and then ramped in reverse back to the starting voltage. The forward scan produces a current peak for any analytes that can be reduced through the range of the potential scan. The current increases as the potential reaches the reduction potential of the analyte, but then falls off as the concentration of the analyte is depleted close to the electrode surface. As the applied potential is reversed, it reaches a potential that reoxidizes the product formed in the first reduction reaction, and produces a current of reverse polarity from the forward scan. The oxidation peak usually has a similar shape to the reduction peak. The peak current, i_(p), is described by the Randles-Sevcik equation:

i _(p)=(2.69×10⁵)n ^(3/2) A C D ^(1/2) v ^(1/2)

where n is the number of moles of electrons transferred in the reaction, A is the area of the electrode, C is the analyte concentration (in moles/cm³), D is the diffusion coefficient, and v is the scan rate of the applied potential.

The potential difference between the reduction and oxidation peaks is theoretically 59 mV/electron for a reversible reaction. In practice, the difference is typically 70-100 mV. Larger differences, or nonsymmetric reduction, and oxidation peaks, are an indication of a nonreversible reaction. The parameters of cyclic voltammograms make CV most suitable for characterization and mechanistic studies of redox reactions at electrodes.

Carbon articles of the present invention are coated with a metal using reductive electropolymerization or controlled potential electropolymerization, thereby forming a metal coating on the carbon article. More specifically, the electropolymerization step includes immersing the carbon article in a solution containing a reducible metal compound. The carbon article and the solution are then subjected to varying electrical potentials, the general principle of which is detailed above. For example, the carbon article and the solution are subjected to varying electrical potential from about zero volts to about −1.0 volts with a rate of potential change in the range from 5 to 100 millivolts per second. The subjecting step is then repeated until the metal is formed of a sufficient thickness on a surface of the carbon article. The use of cyclic voltammetry for the electropolymerization of a polymerizable metal enables an extremely thin coating to be deposited on a carbon article. For example, the metal coating can be deposited of a thickness that is less than about 0.1 mg/cm² and most preferably less than 0.08 mg/cm², 0.05 mg/cm², and 0.03 mg/cm².

More specifically, the present invention provides an electrochemical technique for uniformly coating platinum metal on carbon surfaces, up to 0.098 mg/cm². The method utilizes electrochemical reduction of platinum compounds that can be easily reduced at the electrode surfaces. Among the compounds tested, a mixed-valence platinum phosphate blue (PPB) and tetrachloroplatinate(II) were easily deposited. The impregnation of platinum on the carbon surfaces was accomplished by cyclic voltammetry with scanning voltage, 0 to −1.0 V vs. SCE. The level of coating can be controlled by the number of cycles. At saturation, the platinum coating was found to be 0.098 mg/cm². Alternatively, the platinum coating can also be accomplished by holding the potential at values more negative than the reduction potentials at various lengths of time. The degree of coating is either dependent on the number of cycles or on the holding/maintaining time. At saturation, 0.098 mg/cm² platinum was deposited on a porous carbon rod (without stirring the solution). Once the coating had been deposited, the carbon electrode functioned like a platinum electrode. The method can be applied to a variety of carbon surfaces, including carbon fiber used for fuel cell technology.

The method of the present invention can also be used to create electrodes for use in stationary phosphoric acid fuel cells. Additionally, the method of the present invention can be used to create electrodes for use in several types of fuel cells including, but not limited to, solid oxide fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells, alkaline fuel cells, and proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The method is beneficial for such fuels cells because platinum coated carbon rods, and fibers, readily reduce oxygen in phosphoric acid and other media. The active platinum surface areas of these electrodes were determined from the charge accumulation, during the hydrogen underpotential deposition on platinum in 1.0 M sulfuric acid solution. The technique can also be used in other technology, such as electrochemical reactors, catalysis, electroanalyzer, etc. where inert metal surfaces are required. Therefore, the present invention provides for a method of using a fuel cell, including the steps of forming a fuel cell with a polymerized metal-coated carbon article disclosed herein, and reducing oxygen, thereby providing power to a vehicle. The polymerized-metal coated carbon article acts as the working electrode, and this application is further described in Example 3 below.

The method of the present invention utilizes electrochemical reduction of platinum compounds that can be easily reduced at the electrode surfaces. Suitable platinum compounds include a mixed-valence platinum phosphate blue^(3,4), and other polymerizable metal complexes. However, other reducible metal compounds can also be used. The impregnation of platinum on the carbon surfaces can be accomplished by cyclic voltammetry with scanning voltage, 0 to −1.0 V vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE). The level of coating can be controlled by the number of cycles completed. The platinum coating can also be deposited by maintaining the potential at values more negative than the reduction potentials for various lengths of time. The amount of coating is either dependent on the number of cycles or on the holding time. At saturation, 0.098 mg/cm² platinum was deposited on a porous carbon rod. Once the coating is deposited, the carbon electrode functions as a platinum electrode.

The platinum coated carbon electrode does not lose its properties even when the electrodes are kept in 2.5 M perchloric acid solution over a day. The method can be adapted to fuel cell electrode assemblies with much less platinum loading, by utilizing simple electrochemical devices, and avoiding expensive vapor deposition methodology. Furthermore, unlike the vapor deposition technique, the electrodeposition is carried out in aqueous solution, and therefore, exposure of workers to heavy metal vapor and organic solvents can be avoided.

The present invention also provides an efficient reduction of oxygen at the platinum coated carbon electrodes in phosphoric acid solution, thus indicating that the coated electrodes can be used in phosphoric acid fuel cells. The electrodes can also be used in other fuel cells, based on the observation that the coated electrodes efficiently reduce oxygen in other conditions.

The present invention is beneficial over the prior art because the method of the present invention creates highly active platinum surface areas on the coated carbon article. The activity of the surface area was detected based on charge accumulation on the electrode surface during a cyclic voltammetry experiment in sulfuric acid. The charge accumulation occurs because of hydrogen deposition and hydrogen release on the surface of the coated electrode when the coated electrode was placed in acidic media. Further, the method of the present invention provides a more cost effective manner in which to form electrodes coated with metals.

The method can also be used in other technologies such as electrochemical reactors, catalysis, electroanalyzer etc., where inert metal surfaces are required.

The invention is further described in detail by reference to the following experimental examples. These examples are provided for the purpose of illustration only, and are not intended to be limiting, unless otherwise specified. Thus, the invention should in no way be construed as being limited to the following examples, but rather, should be construed to encompass any and all variations, which become evident as a result of the teaching provided herein.

Example 1

A conventional three-electrode electrochemical cell with a carbon rod or carbon cloth as a working electrode, saturated calomel as a reference electrode, and a platinum wire as an auxiliary electrode was designed. These electrodes were immersed in a platinum phosphate blue solution (0.01M) in 0.5M NaClO₄ and connected to a computer-interfaced potentiostat/galvanostat (Princeton Applied Research, Model 273). Platinum phosphate blue is a mixed valence oligomeric platinum complex with a basic unit, Pt₂(NH₃)₂(HPO₄)₂. The initial potential was set at 0.0 volts (V) and the potential was swept continuously to −1.0 V (forward scan) with a scanning rate of 100 mV/s. The changes in current, as a function of potential, were recorded. Once the potential reached −1.0 V, the sweeping direction was reversed with the same scanning rate.

FIG. 2 shows the cyclic voltammograms recorded by scanning the potential between 0 and −1.0 V for 20 cycles. Each complete cycle consists of a forward and a reverse scan. As can be seen from the diagram, there is a large change in current during the first four cycles. Subsequently, the changes in current from one cycle to the next decrease after several cycles, indicating the completion of electrode modification. In fact, very little change in current is seen after 10 cycles. Although the current did not change significantly after five cycles, platinum loading continues until it reaches saturation, which requires at least about 20 cycles. Amounts of platinum loaded on carbon surfaces, as determined by ion plasma coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), are listed in Table 1. A uniform coating of the platinum on the carbon surface was observed following the cyclic voltammetry experiments. However, the effective surface area as determined in FIG. 6 is much larger than the geometric surface area of carbon articles. Accordingly, the actual platinum loading is lower than the values provided in Table 1 and in some instances the loading can be three times less for carbon articles.

TABLE 1 Coated Platinum Contents on Carbon Surfaces Following Cyclic Voltammetry. Platinum Loading mg/cm² Carbon Carbon Carbon Carbon Rod/ Paper/ Carbon Rod/ Paper/ K₂PtCl₄ K₂PtCl₄ Paper/ No. Of Pt-Blue Pt-Blue (Without (Without K₂PtCl₄ Cycles (Stirring) (Stirring) Stirring) Stirring) (Stirring) 05 0.0448 0.0303 — 0.0401 0.1146 08 0.0889 — — — — 10 0.1198 0.0761 — 0.0779 0.1838 15 0.1810 0.1176 0.0910 — 20 0.2158 0.1452 0.0980 0.1100 0.2058

The extent of platinum deposition also depended on whether the solutions were stirred during the voltammetry experiments. For example, after twenty cycles, platinum loading on carbon rod was found to be 0.098 mg/cm² without stirring the solution while approximately twice that amount was loaded if the solutions were stirred. The platinum content on the carbon electrodes varies with the number of cycles. For example, platinum loadings on porous carbon electrode with stirring were determined to be 0.0448 mg/cm² and 0.2158 mg/cm² with five and twenty successive cycles respectively. Identical experiments with carbon cloth (Torray Carbon Paper, E-Tek Inc) revealed platinum loading between 0.0303 mg/cm² to 0.1452 mg/cm² based on the geometric surface area of the carbon articles with five and twenty cycles, respectively.

The platinum coated carbon electrode made according to this method functions like an authentic platinum electrode as evidenced by the following experiments. First, cyclic voltammograms were recorded for the reduction of K₃Fe(CN)₆ using a platinum wire and platinum coated carbon electrode as a working electrode. Identical voltammograms were obtained when the surface area of these two electrodes were equal as shown in FIG. 3. Furthermore, when a platinum coated carbon electrode was also used as an auxiliary electrode, the electrochemical system yielded voltammograms similar to those observed for platinum metal auxiliary electrode as shown in FIG. 4.

The efficacy of these platinum coated electrodes was demonstrated by their ability to reduce oxygen in phosphoric acid solution. In these series of experiments, platinum coated electrodes were used as working electrode and Ag/AgCl as the reference electrode for the reduction of oxygen by acquiring cyclic voltammograms of oxygen saturated phosphoric acid. FIG. 5 shows tremendous enhancement of reduction current when platinum coated carbon rods (chart b, c, d and e; five, ten, twenty and twenty five cycles of coatings) compared to no reduction of oxygen with bare carbon rod (chart a). Similar experiments in other conditions also demonstrate efficient reduction of oxygen.

The active surface areas of the platinum coated carbon roads were determined by recording cyclic voltammograms in sulfuric acid by using a hydrogen reference electrode. The accumulation of charge was calculated based on the established procedure described in ref. 5 and using 220 μC/Cm². The experiments show that when the tip of a carbon rod of 3.1 mm diameter (surface area 0.075 Cm²) was coated with platinum for five cycles, the active platinum surface was found to be 0.2 Cm² while with ten cycle loading the active area was increased to 0.26 cm². Taking the ICP-MS platinum estimations reported in Table 1 and combining the estimations with the surface area determined from the cyclic voltammetry measurements, the effective loading can be calculated to be 0.02 mg/Cm² and 0.035 mg/cm² for the five- and ten-cycle loading. The data also indicate that a two-fold increase in platinum only afforded 30% increase in surface area. Therefore, a series of low loading platinum electrodes is more efficient in delivering high current density rather than increasing platinum loading.

Example 2 Platinum Deposition by Reductive Electropolymerization

Platinum phosphate blue of concentrations in the range 1.6 to 10.0 mM in the pH range 4 to 6.0 were used as the sources of platinum deposition. A three-electrode cell with a variety carbon surfaces as a working electrode, saturated calomel electrode (SCE), calomel, or Ag/AgCl as a reference electrode, and a platinum wire as an auxiliary electrode were used. The carbon surfaces included graphite carbon, carbon papers, carbon powder (Vulcan XC72R) on carbon cloth, and carbon cloths (E-TeK). To prepare the catalyst on carbon surfaces, three-electrode cells contained 1.0 to 5.0 mM platinum phosphate blue solution in 0.5 M NaClO4 at pH 4 to 5. Platinum depositions were achieved were prepared by cycling voltage from 0.0 to −0.8 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) or 0.2 to −1.0 vs. SCE with different scan rates, 5 mV/s to 100 mV/s. A typical current-voltage curve was obtained as in FIG. 2. At the end of the voltage cycling, platinum deposition was clearly visible in the form of a metallic layer and by X-ray dispersion experiments (Example 3). These platinum coated surfaces were then tested for oxygen reduction as described in Example 4. The platinum content was determined by Atomic Absorption spectroscopy (AAS). In determining the platinum content by AAS, platinum coated carbon surfaces were grinded to fine powder and was treated with a mixture of concentrated in nitric and hydrochloric acid at 70 degrees C. Typically, 0.20 g of the power was treated with 20 mL of the acid mixture.

Exactly identical platinum deposition experiments were conducted with K₂PtCl₄ solutions. Table 2 shows the platinum contents at some representative conditions.

TABLE 2 Representative comparison of platinum deposition (mg/cm2) data from PPB by Reductive Electropolymerization and conventional electrodeposition from K₂PtCl₄. Concentration of Deposited Deposited Platinum Scan rates No of platinum from platinum from compounds mV/s cycles PPB K₂PtCl₄ 10.0 mM 100 5 0.0303 0.1146 10.0 mM 100 10 0.0761 0.1838 2.5 mM 25 3 0.0485 — 2.5 mM 25 5 0.0830 — 2.5 mM 15 3 0.0667 — 2.5 mM 15 5 0.0908 —

The coating process was accomplished through reductive electropolymerization as can be demonstrated by comparing platinum contents from polymerizable phosphate blue and non-polymerizable K₂PtCl₄—the latter compound forms platinum deposits through conventional electrodeposition. Starting with identical concentrations of PPB and K₂PtCl₄, the deposition patterns are different. For example, PPB yielded 0.03 mg/cm² after five cycles of deposition while K₂PtCl₄ deposited 0.1146 mg/cm² under identical conditions. This difference is attributed to the fact that PPB forms a polymeric coating followed by reduction to platinum. This electropolymerization was also clearly visible in the current-potential curves (such as in FIG. 2) in that the reduction current initially grows exponentially in first three cycles followed by minimal changes in the current in subsequent cycles. During the reduction process, platinum atoms of PPB are anchored at specific sites that are controlled by the structure of the PPB-polymer. Upon reduction, the phosphate moiety is released and only platinum atoms are deposited on the carbon article. Secondly, the deposition through electropolymerization can be accomplished with extremely dilute solutions, even at sub-millimolar concentrations. On the other hand, K₂PtCl₄ deposition is governed by the principle of conventional electrodeposition, i.e., the deposition is a function of concentration of platinum starting materials, deposition potential, and the rate of scanning. At sub-millimolar concentrations, conventional deposition is extremely difficult to achieve without applying high voltage. In fact, the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,571 to Verbrugge noted the difficulty of coating platinum below 10 mM platinum concentrations through conventional electrodeposition by voltammetry.

Example 3 Oxygen Reduction by the Electropolymerized Platinum Coated Carbon Surfaces

The platinum-coated carbon articles in Example 2 were used as working electrodes in conjunction with a reference electrode (Hg/HgSO4), and an auxiliary electrode (Pt wire/foil or Au wire/foil) in a three-electrode cell consisting of either argon or oxygen saturated 0.5 M HClO4 solutions. The oxygen reduction ability was tested by cycling the potential between 1.1 V to 0.0 V vs. SHE. Typical voltage-current curves on carbon paper and carbon cloth are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In argon-saturated solution, the peak at 0.75V is due to the reduction of platinum-oxide/hydroxide layer. The peak at 0.78 V in oxygen saturated solution is due to the oxygen reduction. The net oxygen reduction current is shown FIG. 9. These Figures show that platinum-coated carbon articles can function as a fuel cell electrode by efficiently reducing oxygen.

The current density at 0.78 V (peak potential) was calculated based on the geometric and effective surface areas. The active surface areas were calculated based on the hydrogen adsorption peaks according to the literature (H. Angerstein-Koziowska, B. Mcdougall, and B. E. Conway, J. Electro. Anal. Chem. Interfacial Elecrochem, 1972, 39, 287-313).

TABLE 3 Oxygen reduction current at the peak potential as a function of platinum loading. Current density Current density Platinum loading, (Amp × 10⁴)/ (amp × 10⁵)/ mg/cm2 cm² (geometric area) cm² (effective surface area) 0.0485 0.61 0.16 0.0667 0.59 0.13 0.0907 0.52 0.14 0.124 0.76 0.09 0.227 0.73 0.10 Note that exactly the same microelectode with identical geometrical surface area was used for all measurements.

The data included in Table 3 establishes the fact that unlike conventional electrodeposition, loading more platinum/cm² does not improve the efficiency of oxygen reduction as judged by the current density/active surface area. Note that a conventional platinum electrocatalyst enhances the oxygen reduction as a function of platinum loading. In fact, commercial fuel cell catalyst utilizes 0.5 mg/cm² loading for oxygen reduction. Therefore, platinum deposited via reductive electropolymerization shows the highest oxygen reduction ability below 0.1 mg/cm².

Example 4

The platinum deposited carbon articles in Example 2 were characterized by X-ray diffraction technique. The X-ray scattering patterns are shown in FIG. 9. These experiments were done on a Bruker's D8 discover with two-dimensional area detector GADDS. The diffractometer is equipped with an interchangeable point detector and a high star multiwire area detector, a ¼ circle Eulerian cradle, xyz stage, phi, chi and omega motors, a laser/video alignment system and several optical components that include a 20 micron monocap for microdiffraction. The nature of the crystal facet and size of the particles were determined following established methods. The XRD measurements exhibited an average particle size of 9 to 14 nm and crystals facet largely composed of on Pt(1,1,1) with small contributions from pt(2,0,0).

In conclusion, the method of the present invention provides a metal deposited in an amount that can be carefully controlled to low levels. Typically these levels are less than 0.03 mg/cm², and can be lower than 0.01 mg/cm². (Since a complete platinum coating is not required for a fuel cell electrode, the present method is well suited for low platinum loading). The method also produces less platinum waste, thereby decreasing cost associated with the creation of fuel cells or other apparatus utilizing a substrate coated with a precious or other metal. The method also deposits a metal onto a surface without the use of either an organic vapor or a metal vapor, thereby increasing safety in producing such articles.

Throughout this application, author and year and patents by number reference various publications, including United States patents. Full citations for the publications are listed below. The disclosures of these publications and patents in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology that has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

REFERENCES

-   1. Fuel Cells for Transportation, 2001 Annual Progress Report, U.S.     Department of Energy, Office of the Advanced Technology, Washington,     D.C. -   2. M. W. Ellis, M. R. V. Spakovsky, D. J. Nelson, Proceedings of     IEEE, Fuel cell systems: Efficient, flexible energy conversion in     the 21st Century, 2001, 89, 1808-1818. -   3. R. N. Bose, R. E. Viola and R. D. Cornelius, “Phosphorus-31 NMR     Characterization and Kinetics of Formation of Ortho-, Pyro-, and     Tri-phosphato Complexes of Platinum(II)”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1984,     106, 3336-3344. -   4. R. N. Bose, R. D. Cornelius and R. E. Viola, “Kinetics and     Mechanisms of Platinum(II) Promoted Hydrolysis of Inorganic     Polyphosphates”, Inorg. Chem., 1985, 24, 3989; -   5. H. Angerstein-Kozlowska, B. Macdougall, and B. E. Conway, J.     Electroanal. Chem. Interfacial Electrochem., 1972, 39(2), 287-313 

1. A method of coating a carbon article with a metal by reductively electropolymerizing the metal via cyclic voltammetry on the carbon article, thereby forming a metal coating on the carbon article.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said reductively electropolymerizing step includes immersing the carbon article in a solution containing a reducible metal compound.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said reductively electropolymerizing step further includes subjecting the carbon article and the solution to varying electrical potentials.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said subjecting step includes varying the electrical potential from about zero volts to about −1.0 volts with a rate of potential change of about 100 millivolts per second.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said method further includes repeating the subjecting step until a sufficient metal coating is deposited on the carbon article.
 6. A polymerized metal-coated carbon article formed by the method of claim
 1. 7. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 6, wherein said carbon article is selected from the group consisting essentially of carbon rods, carbon electrodes, graphite carbon, carbon papers, carbon powder on carbon cloth, and carbon cloths.
 8. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 7, wherein said carbon article is an electrode.
 9. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 8, wherein said electrode is a fuel cell electrode.
 10. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 6, wherein said polymerized metal is selected from the group consisting essentially of platinum, gold, silver, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, and iridium.
 11. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 10, wherein the polymerized metal is platinum from a compound chosen from the group consisting of tetrachloroplatinate (II) and platinum phosphate blue.
 12. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 11, wherein said metal-coated carbon article is a platinum-coated carbon electrode.
 13. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 12, wherein said coating is present in an amount less than 0.1 mg/cm².
 14. A polymerized metal-coated carbon article comprising: a carbon article; and a polymerized metal coating disposed on an exterior surface of said carbon article through reductive electropolymerization, said coating being present in an amount less than 0.1 mg/cm².
 15. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 14, wherein said carbon article is selected from the group consisting essentially of carbon rods, carbon electrodes, graphite carbon, carbon papers, carbon powder on carbon cloth, and carbon cloths.
 16. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 15, wherein said carbon article is an electrode.
 17. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 16, wherein said electrode is a fuel cell electrode.
 18. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 14, wherein said metal is selected from the group consisting essentially of platinum, gold, silver, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, and iridium.
 19. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 18, wherein the polymerized metal is platinum from a compound chosen from the group consisting of tetrachloroplatinate (II) and platinum phosphate blue.
 20. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 19, wherein said metal-coated carbon article is a platinum-coated carbon electrode.
 21. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 14, wherein said coating is present in an amount less than about 0.08 mg/cm².
 22. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 14, wherein said coating is present in an amount less than about 0.05 mg/cm².
 23. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 14, wherein said coating is present in an amount less than about 0.03 mg/cm².
 24. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 14, wherein said coating is capable of reducing oxygen in phosphoric acid, neutral, and basic media.
 25. The polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to 24, wherein said metal-coated carbon article are capable of rendering active platinum surfaces for charge accumulation through hydrogen deposition and release.
 26. A method of coating a carbon article with a metal by controlled reductively electropolymerizing the metal on the carbon article, thereby forming a metal coating on the carbon article.
 27. A method of using a fuel cell, including the steps of: forming a fuel cell with a polymerized metal-coated carbon article of claim 14 as a working electrode; and reducing oxygen, thereby providing power to a vehicle.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein said forming step further includes forming the fuel cell with reference and auxiliary electrodes.
 29. The method of claim 27, wherein the polymerized metal is selected from the group consisting essentially of platinum, gold, silver, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, and iridium.
 30. The method of claim 27, wherein the polymerized metal-coated carbon article is selected from the group consisting essentially of carbon rods, carbon electrodes, graphite carbon, carbon papers, carbon powder on carbon cloth, and carbon cloths.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the polymerized metal-coated carbon article is a platinum-coated carbon electrode.
 32. A fuel cell including a polymerized metal-coated carbon article according to claim 14 as a working electrode.
 33. The fuel cell of claim 32, wherein said polymerized metal is selected from the group consisting essentially of platinum, gold, silver, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, and iridium.
 34. The fuel cell of claim 32, wherein said polymerized metal-coated carbon article is selected from the group consisting essentially of carbon rods, carbon electrodes, graphite carbon, carbon papers, carbon powder on carbon cloth, and carbon cloths.
 35. The fuel cell of claim 34, wherein said polymerized metal-coated carbon article is a platinum-coated carbon electrode.
 36. The fuel cell of claim 32, wherein the fuel cell is chosen from the group consisting of a stationary phosphoric acid fuel cell, a solid oxide fuel cell, a molten carbonate fuel cell, an alkaline fuel cell, and a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. 